Getting started

This page assumes MUSE is already installed. If not, start with Install & first launch.

Create your first project

When MUSE opens, you’ll see the welcome screen.

1. Choose New Project, then pick a name and a location on your computer for the .muse file. Your entire project lives in that single file — you can move, copy, or back it up like any other document.
2. Optionally pick a starting template. Templates add a few suggested folders and gentle writing prompts you’re free to keep, ignore, or delete.
3. MUSE opens your new project in the main workspace.

Already have a manuscript elsewhere? You can bring it in instead — see Importing your work for Scrivener and Word projects.

One project, one file

Everything — your chapters, notes, research, comments, and history — lives in that one .muse file. To back it up yourself at any time, just copy the file. MUSE also keeps automatic backups for you.

The workspace

MUSE is built around three columns, with a toolbar across the top and a status bar along the bottom.

• The binder (left). Your project’s table of contents — a tree of folders and documents you can drag to reorder. This is how you navigate your manuscript. See The binder.
• The editor (center). Where you write. It can show a single document, several documents stitched together, a planning board, or a spreadsheet-style outline. See The editor.
• The right panel. Context for whatever you’re working on. The Inspector holds the current document’s synopsis, notes, metadata, writing goal, and links; other tabs hold the document outline, comments, suggestions, footnotes, and version history.

The status bar at the bottom shows your save state, word count, and writing goal progress. You can hide the binder or the right panel at any time to widen your writing space.

Switching views

The same documents in your binder can be shown in several ways. Use the view switcher to move between:

• Editor — write a document (or several) as prose.
• Scene Board — a visual planning surface of index cards.
• Outliner — a spreadsheet of your documents with synopses and metadata.
• Research — collect and read source material.
• Characters — manage characters, point of view, and profiles.

Write your first words

1. In the binder, select a document (or create one with the + button).
2. Click into the editor and start typing.
3. MUSE saves automatically as you write — there’s no save button to remember. The status bar shows when your work is saved.

Find your way around fast

A few tools help you move through a large project quickly:

• Command palette — type to run any command or jump to a feature.
• Quick open — jump straight to a document by name. See Command palette & quick open.
• Project search — full-text search across everything.
• Keyboard shortcuts — every action has a shortcut, and they’re all listed in the in-app cheat sheet. You can remap any of them — see Keyboard shortcuts.

Your work stays yours

MUSE is offline-first. Nothing is uploaded, there’s no account, and there’s no telemetry. Your safety net is built in:

• Automatic backups run quietly as you work.
• Version snapshots let you roll a document back to an earlier draft.
• Crash recovery restores unsaved work if MUSE closes unexpectedly.

See Privacy for the full picture.

Where to go next

• The binder — organizing your project
• The editor — writing, formatting, and focus tools
• The Scene Board — planning your story visually
• Compile & export — turning your project into a manuscript

Help us improve this manual

This documentation is being written during the alpha. If something is missing or unclear, that’s useful feedback — see Reporting bugs & feedback.